A Promise to Keep
by meg13bloodrose
Summary: Post canon. AU-ish. It is time. Her year is up. Sakura is leaving Konoha as her means of upholding a promise she made. She does not know when she will be back or if she can ever come back again. As she departs, she leaves in her wake friends and comrades filled with heartache and confusion.
1. Tragedy

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto_

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_One year before the onset of the Fourth Shinobi war…_

The 15 year old pink-haired kunoichi crept silently towards the door leading to her house. There was something wrong, she could feel it in the night air. The moonlight in the sky is not one that induces serenity tonight, no, instead it is disturbing._ Sinister_. This feeling of doom, she remembered, started a couple of hours ago while she was at her office filing some medical documents.

_She did not know what it was but something just made her insides freeze, the hair on her arms and neck stood up making her shiver uncontrollably. Suddenly, a glinting object at her peripheral made her glance at the side. She saw a picture of her taken a couple months back, proudly clinging to a certificate that solidifies her position and vocation as a medic of Konohagakure. Beside her were her parents, Mebuki and Kizashi Haruno, who were undoubtedly proud of their daughter as proven by their sparkling eyes and straightened backs. The Haruno family is just an average family some might say. They are not as famous and well-known unlike that of the Hyuuga's, Akamichi's, Nara's and the other prominent clans in the village. Nonetheless, that does not bother them even one bit for all they care about is that they are happy and that they are safe. Because for Sakura, even if Kizashi continues his nonsensical and _oh so corny_ jokes and Mebuki _nagsnagsnags_ for all she wants, as long as they are together she is content. Every time she gazes at this particular picture of her and her family, it brings a whimsical smile on her face. But now as she looks at it, that horrible ice cold feeling intensifies. She was panicking slightly now. She couldn't sit still. She wants to immediately go home and assure herself that nothing is wrong, that her mom and dad were still there. That they are _alright_. Shinobis are taught to always listen to one's gut instinct for it can save their lives. And her gut instinct is telling her now that her parents are in danger. And so with that thought, she opened her office window and leapt towards the nearest building. Taking to the roof as it is the fastest way home. _

Sakura snaps herself back to the present . _Focus! _she berates herself. The sincerity of the situation is not lost on her. She knows that when she first sensed the trouble she should have gone first to the others for back-up but this sense of urgency she is feeling does not permit her to waste more time. _She must act now!_ She holds her breath and listens for any noises that may come from inside. _It's quiet. Too quite. My parents should have been home by now preparing for bed._ There is no light turned on as well which is unusual for her mother always leaves the kitchen lights on every night._ Something is definitely amiss._ She approaches the door and took hold of the knob. As silently as she could she turned it and pushed the door open gently. She stopped on the threshold for a moment, checking to see if anything will jump her, may it be traps or the intruder. None. And so she pushed onwards with knees slightly bent, a kunai gripped hard by her right hand, left hand raised in front of her in a defensive position. Nothing seemed out of order. All the furniture were where they were before. No glasses or trinkets broken. Everything was in place as they used to be. But then, a small gasp left her mouth as she _smelled it. _The smell that is as familiar to her as her own hand, the smell that pervades her senses whenever she is at the operating room, hands inches deep within someone elses body, stitching muscles and veins together. _This….this is…the unmistakable scent of blood…lots of it…._

All sense of stealth she may have had before she loses now as she races up the stairs and follows the smell where it is at its strongest. She looks around; _there at her parents' bedroom!_ She rushes towards the door and slams it open only to see a gruesome sight that would forever be etched in her mind. Blood splattered everywhere, painting the originally light yellow walls red. Furniture broken, indicating that there was struggling that occurred. Floors filled with puddles of blood. And there, lying in those same puddles where her parents. Mebuki, with her once chestnut hair dyed red and stiff with dried blood, and Kizashi with his always grinning face set into a grimace. Their non moving forms were huddled together as if even the threat of death could not pull them apart. Sakura let out an anguished cry and her legs no longer able to hold her weight, sent her crashing down to her knees. But that did not deter her medic mode from appearing for she crawled towards where her parents lay and with her hands glowing green, assessed their condition. One hand on each of her parents' chest she tried to heal them with her Mystical Palm Technique. But it was too late for her father. He had no pulse, he wasn't breathing, no signs of life anymore. Her grief threatened to pull her apart but she took a hold of her strength and kept herself from breaking._ Keep it together! This is not the time to cry. Not yet. Mom's still has a chance. For Godsakes concentrate! _

Mebuki is hanging on to life by a thread. She herself knows this and has already accepted that death is inevitable. But before she succumbs to the darkness, there is something that she has yet to tell her daughter. As she weakly opens her eyes, the first thing she saw was her husband who has already gone ahead of her to the Land of the Dead. He fought valiantly, trying to protect her with all his might even though they both knew that he was fighting a losing battle. Her dear husband who is loving and caring and all that she has ever wanted her partner in life to be. _ Wait for me my love, I will be with you soon._ And when she turned her head, she saw her beautiful daughter with the utmost focused expression on her face. She needed to tell her something before she passes on.

" _Sakura" _she calls weakly._ "honey…. stop … it…. already" _she tried to still her daughter's arm signaling for her to stop healing her for it is useless. Sakura swats her mother's hand away_ " No! I can still heal you, you can still live!" _Mebuki tries to take hold of her hand again and this time succeeds on grasping it_. "Sakura, stop….. Sakura, honey..." _she was interrupted when coughs racked her body causing blood to spittle on the side of her mouth_. _Sakura looks at her with an anguished expression on her face and it breaks her heart that her daughter should have to experience this much pain. _Oh Kami, please guide my daughter._ She wanted to cry not because she is dying but because her daughter is hurting. Sakura still continues to heal without heeding her mother's words. _"Sakura…. listen ….to me, listen! I don't ….have much time left…. honey. I'm sorry…. so so sorry….. that we….. can't be with you anymore ….but there is something you must know….". _ She hands over to Sakura a key looped around a necklace. Sakura idly remembered that this necklace was always worn by her mother. Never has she seen her mother without it. She vaguely remembered asking her mom once when she was about 6 years old what the key looped around the necklace is for. _What treasure is it locking away_? Her curious child's mind would always wonder. And when she did voice this question her mom would always give her the same answer: " _When you are old enough and when the time is right then I will tell you". _And since she was then but a child she would just shrug it off and proceed to playing with her dolls. But now that question is once again resurfacing in her mind. "_ Mom?" "Sakura….open…. the chest…it is buried under the place… where we used to gaze ….at the stars… it is where …you will find the…. answers" _Mebuki began coughing harshly again, spraying an alarming amount of blood on her chest and on the floorboards_. "Mom! Take a hold of yourself Mom!" _Sakura is crying profusely now. She cannot take it. _Oh Kami! at least spare one of them, at least leave my mother for me. _But it seems that Kami is deaf to her pleas for her mother's breath is now coming in weak rattling rasps_. " Who did this to you, mom?" _she whispered in a broken voice_. "It is all…. in the chest ...Sakura….find it. …We love you …so so much.. never ….forget that…. no matter...what you….. may find out …..we…..have ….always…. and ….will al-always …lo- love ….yo- you" a _tear slipped down her mother's face as she uttered her last words. _" Mom?! Mom?! Wake up please!"_ tears were running profusely down her face now. Sakura couldn't take it: her head was pounding, her stomach was lurching and it is as if her heart has been broken into a million tiny pieces lodging to all parts of her body causing this unbearable ache that she can't take. She clutched her mom's and her dad's hand to her chest. Sobs racked her body and she was shaking uncontrollably. She wants to believe that this is just a dream that she would wake up from it in the morning. None of this is real. All will be back to normal if she just wishes hard enough. _Please let this be just a dream pleasepleasepleaseplease let this be just a dream. _And this was how she was discovered by Ino hours later: there sprawled on the floor, clothes soaked with her parents' blood, repeating the same mantra out loud over and over again while never letting go of her parents' hands at all.

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_please tell me what you think of this story.. all reviews are appreciated!_


	2. Memories

Disclaimer: I am not and will ever be Naruto's owner

A/N: I'm sorry I wasn't able to clarify this before but this story is meant to be a multi-chap fic centering on Sakura's point of view but the other Naruto characters' POV's will be appearing too. The story starts off a year prior to the onset of the Fourth Shinobi War which will then progress to a series of time skips up till it reaches the "present time" wherein the main plot occurs, which will be a couple of years after Sakura's leave. Please bear with my updates and story line for aside from the fact that this is my first multi-chap fic I also write in an irregular manner which only occurs whenever I have spontaneous bursts of inspiration. Anyway, please enjoy reading!

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Her mind was blank, a vast never ending plane of emptiness. Everything that has occurred since the time Ino found her curled up in misery, she could not remember clearly. It was a hazy memory from then onwards. Some parts were missing, whether important or not, she could not tell. She could not even remember clearly the day of her parents' burial or the days prior to that. All she could recall was that she spent hours and hours scrubbing off the blood on the walls, _her parents' blood!_ , while sobbing uncontrollably. She ended up moving to another apartment quite far from the house. The distance would help her, she thought. She just could not stand to stay there in that house reeking of blood even for a minute longer. Another thing she could recall vaguely was her in a black dress, which Ino helped her into, walking towards the town center where the memorial for her parents will be held, standing for a couple of hours in the rain and then making her way back to her apartment. _Not home because it'll never be a home without her mother and father._ She cannot remember whether there were tears falling from her eyes during the memorial or not but all she could see was the number of people, civilian and shinobi alike, standing in front of her waiting for their turn to give their condolences. She ran away after that. Tsunade-sama and the others could not mask their worry fast enough for the pink-haired girl to not notice but she does not have it in herself to care. She cannot, for the life of her, make herself _damn care about it_ because all that she felt and knew in that moment was that her parents were gone, viciously ripped from her life, away from her and she does not even know who the monster responsible for it is. She knows that she should stand, take a firm grip on her misery and lock it away deep where it cannot hurt her, where it will numb her so that she could concentrate in searching for the cretins who were responsible for this. Shinobis lose life all the time. Death within a shinobi family, even to that of a civilian's, are not uncommon. Death is not unfamiliar to all. "Shinobis must endure" they say. But is it so wrong to feel so hollow? To feel as if there is nothing left for you anymore? She is entitled to her space and her time for grieving. Many have tried to cheer her up. Ino was relentless in her visitations of Sakura. At first, she was very serious, very much unlike her usual self. Giving her all in being supportive of Sakura. Letting her know that she along with the rest of her friends will be doing all that they can to look for the perpetrators. After a couple days, though she changed tactics. She began being her usual loud and cheery self. Giving her all the latest gossips and the usual shopping tips, because apparently those "_to die for boots are not gonna deliver themselves to you Sakura and so you better get up on your ass and reacquaint yourself to society!" _But Ino could tell that the strong approach did not work. She only hoped that Naruto would come home soon from his training with Jiraiya-sama or at least Kakashi-sensei from his never-ending lists of S-ranked missions. Sakura is in desperate need of them and hopefully they could have a positive effect on her. Soon.

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Though Sakura does not ask, Tsunade-sama updates her of the status with regards to the investigation of her parents' murder. Despite the large amounts of blood on the walls and the apparent struggle that have occurred between her father and the enemy, no evidences were found. They were befuddled. No piece of torn cloth or left over weapons which would have been a great aid was collected. No motives could also be identified as to why her parents were eliminated. As far as Sakura and everyone else knew, Kizashi and Mebuki Haruno were good upstanding citizens of Konoha. They even barely leave the village for either missions or vacations. So what could have been the motive? This question was predominant in the minds of all who wish to solve the crime as soon as possible.

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Tsunade, Hokage of Konohagakure, also master and teacher of the medic-nin kunoichi, Haruno Sakura has always treated the girl as her own. She and her former lover Dan hadn't had the opportunity to be married and gifted with a child. She sees Shizune, her apprentice, as a daughter as well but there is something about Sakura that calls upon her maternal instincts to appear more strongly and react. Maybe it is the delicateness at the same time strength of her apprentice or maybe it is because since from a young age Sakura had already been exposed to heartbreak and sadness, but whatever it is she vows to herself not as a Hokage but as woman and as a mother, that she would never _ever_ let Sakura suffer ever again. Not if she could help it.

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"Stop…sto-stop it! Ple-please..stop…. STOP!" criedthe pink-haired girl who lurched into a sitting position. Sweat was rolling down her face and gathering in her neck and nape. She was drenched. The cold draft seeping through the window made her shiver and her insides freeze. With the swiftness only a trained ninja could emulate, she rushed off towards the bathroom and hurled her dinner that night down the drain. Now Sakura understands why Sasuke was always snappy and mad and just generally _in a shitty mood_ whenever even a single word about his family was mentioned. _Because it hurts so damn much._ No one should have to experience this kind of pain. She does not wish it even for her worst enemies. It's been almost 2 weeks since her parents' death and she did not want to cry anymore. Even if she wanted to, she does not think that she can. As a medic, she knows that it is not physically possible but she just feels as if her tear ducts have shriveled up and closed already after having cried day and night for the past 2 weeks. It does not help as well that nightmares have plagued her since that night. She doesn't think it will vanish for years to come. _"Maybe someday but not right now" _she thought. Speaking of nightmares, the one she had 2 days ago made her remember her mom's last words to her. A chest. She was to search for a chest. _The answers I seek will be found there_ she had said with her dying breath. _Maybe, a link to the killer will be found there and all of this will be clarified and given closure for once and for all._ Because that is what Sakura desires the most that moment: not her parents back, no she knows that _that_ is impossible, what she wants is closure and answers just so that finally peace can reign over her and her family.

The key that was entrusted to her by her mother was far from beautiful. It was rusty and small, traditional looking. It looks as if it is centuries old. The necklace that it was looped into was also plain looking, just a simple gold-chain, moderate in length, enough not to choke her or hinder her movements. But what made the 2 pieces beautiful and extraordinary is not its appearance but the significance it represents previously in Mebuki's life and now in Sakura's life. She does not care whether the necklace looks unpresentable or not pleasing to the eye, because the memories that they hold are irreplaceable; cannot be bought. This necklace has been with her mother ever since her childhood days and this memorabilia she left for her only daughter she knows will be treasured forever.

It was on the 15th day since her parents' death that Sakura had gathered enough energy to push away the grief, at least for the time being so as to start investigating on her own. It does not mean that she does not trust Konoha and her friends to find the killer but she feels, no she _knows_ that it is her who is meant to find the one who did this to her family. Maybe Sasuke was right in leaving Konoha all that time ago. _Maybe we should just leave him alone and let him exact his revenge for it is his choice_. "But that is another heartbreak that should be tackled for another time, not now" she mumbled to herself. She regrets the fact that it had to take this long for her to act but she knows that it was necessary for her to gather her thoughts first so as not to rush off and give into brashness. And with that thought, the image of her other teammate flashed into her mind. Naruto, with his exuberant smiles and unbreaking devotion to his friends, always ready to offer his love and support.

"_I miss you Naruto, you too Kaka-sensei but you're not here to give strength to me right now and so I should stay strong by myself, by my own will"_ and with that thought she set off towards her destination.

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On a breezy night 10 years ago, the Haruno family was to be found not inside their home but outside. You see, they have a monthly tradition wherein once every 1st week of the month, they would all go out at night and have a little excursion. It usually starts off as Sakura being perched atop her father's shoulders with her mother by their side. They would stroll around the village making little Sakura's eyes widen at every little detail. She was a tremendously shy little girl back then, often distancing herself from others so as to avoid being made fun of. And so, taking in all the sights and people that Konoha has to offer did overwhelm the little child at times. They would eat dango at a stall run by an old acquaintance of her father. After that, Kizashi would run around the street while putting more bounce to his steps making his daughter bob up and down while laughing hysterically. This would then result to the bursting of Mebuki's patience and the development of a bump in Kizashi's head because according to Mebuki _ her daughter is not a ragdoll and you better stop now Kizashi or else I'll make you my personal ragdoll!_ But behind that shouting and pounding of her dad's head, Sakura would always see that it was during those moments that her mother's eyes would shine the brightest and her laugh was at its loveliest.

This tradition of theirs continued for years, up till Kizashi was no longer able to carry his daughter on his shoulders so he settled for holding his wife and his daughter's hand. This tradition of theirs never did die down. In fact they were supposed to celebrate it yesterday. The thought that she would never be able to experience those nights ever again made the smile that appeared on her face upon the onrush of memories falter a bit. But, those memories are one of the many wherein her family was truly happy and so she would not let bitterness and pain taint those memories. She will keep it close to her heart where it will be safe and forever remembered. The resurfacing of this memory did not happen spontaneously, it occurred because of her mother's dying wish for her to find a chest. Each and every excursion of the Haruno Family would always end in the same manner. All three of them would agree that this event is the climax and most enjoyed moment of their night outs. As the night slowly settles down to a point where the villagers are heading home and the mood is mellowing, they would often venture to a clearing not far off from their own residence. This clearing was beautiful in the day but breathtaking during the night. With its lush green grass carpeting the ground, the sound of flora dancing in the breeze that smelled fresh and sweet, Sakura trees lining the entire clearing and with its petals continuously showering those within the vicinity, no buildings to obscure one's sight. This place was perfect, perfect for stargazing. Sakura once asked her father why there were so many stars in the sky. Her dad laughed heartily at that question which made little Sakura pout. Mebuki slapped her hand lightly on her husband's chest and glared a little in his direction. That made him snap into attention while little beads of perspiration flowed down his face. It was no secret that he was afraid of his wife. _Tremendously afraid!_ Sakura would always remember her father's words that night.

_Kizashi then turned to his daughter and told her " Well Sakura-chan I once asked my dad the same question back when I was little ya know? That's why I laughed earlier"_

"_Really?" said the little girl, paired with a slight widening of eyes._

"_REALLY! and you know what he said to me? He told me that when a loved one departs from this world, their souls reach towards the sky and stay there"_

"_But why would they want that, don't they want to go to heaven?"_

" _They stay there because they don't want their loved ones to feel lonely or sad. They stay there so that they can watch over them. They appear in the sky so that every time their loved ones look up, they'll know that they are not and will not be alone as long as there as stars in the sky. So remember this dear Sakura-chan, your mother and I cannot always be by your side. There will be a time that we, like those souls, have to be apart from you and- " _

"_NO! I don't want that to ever happen!". The little girl looked distressed at her father's words._

_Kizashi comforted her daughter by holding her close at the same time pulling his wife close to them as well. "But when that time comes Sakura-chan, just look up to the sky and you'll see us shining brightly with our love for you. Always. Okay?" Kizashi said lovingly. Though her eyes were a little misty, Mebuki had a warm smile on her face._

"_Okay"said the little pink-haired girl. Even though she felt a little alarmed and down at the idea of her parents leaving her someday, it still brought a smile on her face upon the thought of them watching over her from up above._

According to her mother, the chest was to be found at that same place they used to gaze at the stars. She thinks her mother was referring specifically to the spot where they would lay on their backs, close to each other and crane their necks to peer at the sky. It was not hard to locate because just a few paces behind it stood the biggest Sakura tree in the clearing. So with both determination and trepidation, she marched towards the place where the answers to her questions lay.

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_Hi there! I know that the Sakura here is a little bit too angsty for some of you but I just wanted to portray how painful it was for her to lose her parents which left her without the energy and determination to act immediately. I promise there will be more bad-assness (is that even a word?) from her because I believe that Sakura should be portrayed more as a strong-willed and kick-ass kunoichi. I also admit that nothing much happened in this chapter but that's because I focused more on the feelings of the characters here but the following chapters will portray the ongoing flow of the plot. Thank you for reading and I really hope you enjoyed it and remain to enjoy it as I continue to progress with this story _


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